Monday 31 January 2011
Lightsaber turning on and elongation effect
This video shows what I mean in my Vader storyboards about the lightsaber turning on and about the elongated effect/ blur in the fast movements. In the original films this process was done using rotoscoping in which the effect is added to each frame individually. In the newer films they will have just used a professional editing program to recreate the effect.
Vader back of head
One of my story board Vader intro ideas involves showing the back of his head and then the mask being lowered which is a contextual reference to this scene from the Empire Strikes Back.
Tuesday 18 January 2011
Renowned Villains
Here is a list of the most renowned villains according to various websites from various films:
According to the AFI 100 Years, 100 Heroes & Villains (just the villains section)
| 1 | Dr. Hannibal Lecter (in THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS) |
| 2 | Norman Bates (in PSYCHO) |
| 3 | Darth Vader (in THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK) |
| 4 | The Wicked Witch of the West (in THE WIZARD OF OZ) |
| 5 | Nurse Ratched (in ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST) |
| 6 | Mr. Potter (in IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE) |
| 7 | Alex Forrest (in FATAL ATTRACTION) |
| 8 | Phyllis Dietrichson (in DOUBLE INDEMNITY) |
| 9 | Regan MacNeil (in THE EXORCIST) |
| 10 | The Queen (in SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS) |
| 11 | Michael Corleone (in THE GODFATHER: PART II) |
| 12 | Alex De Large (in CLOCKWORK ORANGE) |
| 13 | HAL 9000 (in 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY) |
| 14 | The Alien (in ALIEN) |
| 15 | Amon Goeth (in SCHINDLER'S LIST) |
| 16 | Noah Cross (in CHINATOWN) |
| 17 | Annie Wilkes (in MISERY) |
| 18 | The Shark (in JAWS) |
| 19 | Captain Bligh (in MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY) |
| 20 | Man (in BAMBI) |
| 21 | Mrs. John Iselin (in THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE) |
| 22 | Terminator (in THE TERMINATOR) |
| 23 | Eve Harrington (in ALL ABOUT EVE) |
| 24 | Gordon Gekko (in WALL STREET) |
| 25 | Jack Torrance (in THE SHINING) |
| 26 | Cody Jarrett (in WHITE HEAT) |
| 27 | Martians (in THE WAR OF THE WORLDS) |
| 28 | Max Cady (in CAPE FEAR) |
| 29 | Reverend Harry Powell (in THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER) |
| 30 | Travis Bickle (in TAXI DRIVER) |
| 31 | Mrs. Danvers (in REBECCA) |
| 32 | Clyde Barrow & Bonnie Parker (in BONNIE AND CLYDE) |
| 33 | Count Dracula (in DRACULA) |
| 34 | Dr. Szell (in MARATHON MAN) |
| 35 | J.J. Hunsecker (in SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS) |
| 36 | Frank Booth (in BLUE VELVET) |
| 37 | Harry Lime (in THE THIRD MAN) |
| 38 | Caesar Enrico Bandello (in LITTLE CAESAR) |
| 39 | Cruella De Vil (in ONE HUNDRED AND ONE DALMATIONS) |
| 40 | Freddy Krueger (in A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET) |
| 41 | Joan Crawford (in MOMMIE DEAREST) |
| 42 | Tom Powers (in THE PUBLIC ENEMY) |
| 43 | Regina Giddens (in THE LITTLE FOXES) |
| 44 | Baby Jane Hudson (in WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE) |
| 45 | The Joker (in BATMAN) |
| 46 | Hans Gruber (in DIE HARD) |
| 47 | Tony Camonte (in SCARFACE) |
| 48 | Verbal Kint (in THE USUAL SUSPECTS) |
| 49 | Auric Goldfinger (in GOLDFINGER) |
| 50 | Alonzo Harris (in TRAINING DAY) |
| 10 | The Wicked Witch of the West |
| 9 | Lex Luthor |
| 8 | Jason Voorhees |
| 7 | Freddy Kreuger |
| 6 | Michael Myers |
| 5 | Max Cady |
| 4 | Jigsaw |
| 3 | The Joker |
| 2 | Darth Vader |
| 1 | Hannibal Lector |
According to Listverse.com top 10 Evil Movie Villains
| The Queen - Snow White |
| Cruella de Vil - 101 Dalmations |
| The Wicked With of the West - Wizard of Oz |
| "Buffalo Bill" - The Silence of the Lambs |
| HAL9000 - 2001 A Space Odyssey |
| Eve Harrington - All About Eve |
| Jack Torrance - The Shining |
| Keyser Soze - The Usual Suspects |
| The Martians - The War of the Worlds |
| John Doe - Se7en |
| Travis Bickle - Taxi Driver |
| The Joker - Batman (1989) |
| Bonnie & Clyde - Bonnie & Clyde (1967) |
| Shark - Jaws |
| Alex Forrest - Fatal Attraction |
| Max Cady - Cape Fear |
| The Alien - Alien |
| Tony Montana - Scarface |
| Lord Voldemort - Harry Potter |
| Darth Vader - Star Wars |
| Dr. Hannibal Lecter - The Silence of the Lambs |
| Norman Bates - Psycho |
| Freddie Kreuger - A Nightmare on Elm Street |
| Godzilla - Gojira |
| Joan Crawford - Mummy Dearest |
| Frankenstein's Monster - Frankenstein |
| Ronald Niedermann - The Girl Who Played With Fire |
According to Franks Reel Reviews, Best Movie Villains of All Time
According to The Times "50 Best Movie Villains"
| 10 | Hans Gruber - Die Hard |
| 9 | Gordon Gecko - Wall Street |
| 8 | Nurse Ratched - One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest |
| 7 | The Joker - Batman |
| 6 | Count Orlock - Nosferatu |
| 5 | Alex Forrest - Fatal Attraction |
| 4 | Norman Bates - Psycho |
| 3 | Henry F. Porter - It's a Wonderful Life |
| 2 | Hannibal Lecter - The Silence of the Lambs |
| 1 | Lord Vader - Star Wars |
| 10 | Patrick Bateman - American Psycho |
| 9 | Annie Wilkes - Misery |
| 8 | Voldemort - Harry Potter |
| 7 | Freddy Kreuger - A Nightmare on Elm Street |
| 6 | Hans Gruber - Die Hard |
| 5 | Hannibal Lecter - The Silence of the Lambs |
| 4 | The Queen Alien - Aliens |
| 3 | Tommy DeVito - Goodfellas |
| 2 | The Shark - Jaws |
| 1 | Lord Vader - Star Wars |
According to MovieMobsters "50 Greatest Villains 10 - 1"
So these lists have some pretty good ideas about the top villains and you can see that a lot of them pop up more than once which shows that there is some real consensus in the lists. In my opinion a lot of these are in roughly the right places, but there are some villains which I think have been left out of the top 10's which really shouldn't have been.
As such I have created this list of villains that I think would be suitable for use in a Top 10 program. They are a mix of some from the lists and some which aren't but these are some villains that I think are definite candidates for a top 10 spot. Now I just need to get the best 10.
So these lists have some pretty good ideas about the top villains and you can see that a lot of them pop up more than once which shows that there is some real consensus in the lists. In my opinion a lot of these are in roughly the right places, but there are some villains which I think have been left out of the top 10's which really shouldn't have been.
As such I have created this list of villains that I think would be suitable for use in a Top 10 program. They are a mix of some from the lists and some which aren't but these are some villains that I think are definite candidates for a top 10 spot. Now I just need to get the best 10.
Villains
To research into what makes villains villains I have done some research into the history of the term.
To start with, this is the kind of definition that I understand as a villain (courtesy of Dictionary.com):
These two definition sum up perfectly what a villain is, but in terms of my Top 10 video they have a much more light hearted side to them. After all, the villain rarely wins so there is never too much of a sense of danger about them and they can't be taken too seriously.
The term Villain itself is derived from the old french word 'Villein' which again is derived from the Latin 'Villanus' which was a term for a farm hand, more literally someone who worked on the grounds of a villa (the modern day equivalent being a plantation) in Italy or Gaul. People considered 'Villanus' had a less than knightly status and so were not chivalrous.
Acts such as murder, rape and theft obviously quickly became known for not being chivalrous and as such started to become associated and defined as the modern term 'Villainous' and so the word picked up the connotations of abuse and wrong doing.
Vladimir Propp:
I remember from A level Media Studies that Vladimir Propp (A Soviet scholar who analysed russian folk tales among other things) defined all the characters that could constitute a fairy tale or similar story; Villain being a primary character.
The list of 8 characters is like this:
This is the basic narrative structure according to Tzvetan Todorov. If you look at each of these steps very broadly you can see that they fit to most stories and it is clear how the characters of Propp's theory can fit into place.
As for the modern interpretation of a villain, it has definitely taken on a much less disturbing form, probably because of things like cartoons in which villains are commonly exaggerated characters with no real sense of peril. Here is a classic image of a modern day villain:
Either way the image of a villain and actions that constitute their behaviour have changed dramatically from a historical point of view.
To start with, this is the kind of definition that I understand as a villain (courtesy of Dictionary.com):
n
–noun
1.
a cruelly malicious person who is involved in or devoted towickedness or crime; scoundrel.
2.
a character in a play, novel, or the like, who constitutes animportant evil agency in the plot.
The term Villain itself is derived from the old french word 'Villein' which again is derived from the Latin 'Villanus' which was a term for a farm hand, more literally someone who worked on the grounds of a villa (the modern day equivalent being a plantation) in Italy or Gaul. People considered 'Villanus' had a less than knightly status and so were not chivalrous.
Acts such as murder, rape and theft obviously quickly became known for not being chivalrous and as such started to become associated and defined as the modern term 'Villainous' and so the word picked up the connotations of abuse and wrong doing.
Vladimir Propp:
I remember from A level Media Studies that Vladimir Propp (A Soviet scholar who analysed russian folk tales among other things) defined all the characters that could constitute a fairy tale or similar story; Villain being a primary character.
The list of 8 characters is like this:
- Villain - Struggles against the hero
- Donor - This is the character who send off (tests) the hero
- Helper - (Possibly magical) Helps the hero in their quest
- Princess/ Prize - The goal that the hero strives for. The story usually ends at the point that he marries/ obtains the prize.
- Her Father - Send the hero on the quest, Identifies a false hero, marries the hero. Propp notes that the father and the princess 'can not be clearly distinguished'.
- Dispatcher - Prepares the hero or gives the hero a useful/ magical object.
- Hero - Reacts to the donor (or similar character), weds the princess/ gets the prize.
- False Hero - Takes credit for the hero's actions/ tries to marry the princess.
Similar to this, I remember theories of what constitutes a story put down in the most basic terms:
- Equilibrium - Everything is fine and normal
- Disruption - Something happens to break the equilibrium and cause crisis (villain)
- Realisation - The main character (hero) realises the disruption and sets about restoring order
- Action - Some actions take place to try and reinstate equilibrium
- New Equilibrium - Everything goes back to the way it was or at least changes to a better state.
This is the basic narrative structure according to Tzvetan Todorov. If you look at each of these steps very broadly you can see that they fit to most stories and it is clear how the characters of Propp's theory can fit into place.
As for the modern interpretation of a villain, it has definitely taken on a much less disturbing form, probably because of things like cartoons in which villains are commonly exaggerated characters with no real sense of peril. Here is a classic image of a modern day villain:
It may also have to do with post modernism in the form of things like parodies in which classic villain flaws and cliches are pointed out.
Thursday 13 January 2011
Sunday 2 January 2011
The State of the Internet
Another nicely designed simplified animation using some great information graphics and simple effects to make a composition that flows smoothly and contains really interesting facts about internet use.
Todor & Petru
This animation from CRCR is a short abstract action movie which utilizes digital video and frame by frame animation. It features two men sort of fighting this monster thing which I don't really understand but it looks great. I can't tell for sure whether the digital film part of the movie is actually frame by frame photography creating a stop motion animation or whether it is just normal digital video recording with the effect which picks out every couple of frames and elongates them to create the stop motion effect but it works to the same effect either way.
As for the cartoon style monster thing animation, kit was very likely done on Adobe Flash. You can tell because it has been manipulated frame by frame in ways that it cant have just been transformed in after effects. Flash can work in a much more classical form of animation where each frame is redrawn and then shown in quick succession to create the illusion of movement. I can't think of a way that this could really be re-created in after effects but it shows a good understanding of flash animation techniques.
As for the cartoon style monster thing animation, kit was very likely done on Adobe Flash. You can tell because it has been manipulated frame by frame in ways that it cant have just been transformed in after effects. Flash can work in a much more classical form of animation where each frame is redrawn and then shown in quick succession to create the illusion of movement. I can't think of a way that this could really be re-created in after effects but it shows a good understanding of flash animation techniques.
TELEPHONEME - MK12
This is an animation called MK12 which incorporates different type and animation effects as well as digital video and photography and what looks like some 3D design; So pretty much all digital media rolled into one.
It is hard to say what programs would have been used to create this but you can be sure that a fair amount of it would have used a video editing program which was probably Adobe AfterEffects.
I really like the use of all the different digital mediums and effects mixed up together to create this old style 50's/60's effect of a public information film but at times there is a bit much going on on the screen.
It is hard to say what programs would have been used to create this but you can be sure that a fair amount of it would have used a video editing program which was probably Adobe AfterEffects.
I really like the use of all the different digital mediums and effects mixed up together to create this old style 50's/60's effect of a public information film but at times there is a bit much going on on the screen.
35mm
This is a 2 minute animation created by Pascal Monaco and Felix Meyer using After Effects. The concept behind the animation was that Monaco, Meyer and a couple of others wanted to pick their favourite 35 films and represent them as simply as possible within the 2 minutes as a kind of tribute to cinema.
I really like the simplified style of the animation and how each sequence flows into the next so smoothly. The effects used in this sequence are actually quite simple and not really anything we haven't learned. The majority of the animation is transformations with some basic blur effects added which help accentuate movement and speed really well.
I have no idea what like half of the movies are, but it still looks cool.
I really like the simplified style of the animation and how each sequence flows into the next so smoothly. The effects used in this sequence are actually quite simple and not really anything we haven't learned. The majority of the animation is transformations with some basic blur effects added which help accentuate movement and speed really well.
I have no idea what like half of the movies are, but it still looks cool.
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